Skin Deep Read online

  The text was from Luke and it simply said, “Mine.” Geez. Men and their cryptic messages. It showed that he had sent it around four a.m., after he left my house. I hit reply and typed: Mine? Wtf does that mean? I took a deep breath in and finished: I think things got a little weird between us. Sorry, but I don’t think we should see each other anymore. I’m just not sure where this is going, and can’t see it working out.

  Before I could change my mind, I hit send and went to change the laundry over. My phone beeped as I was starting my second load in the washer, telling me I had a new message. I picked it up and opened the text from Luke.

  Mine. Remember when I said you are last night? You said I treat you like you’re mine or something. I was just letting you know, you are. Mine.

  My phone beeped again and I opened his second message.

  You think too much. Stop it.

  Oh. My. God. He can’t just claim me like that! Can he? Yikes.

  I hit reply and typed: I think you’re drunk. I’m not a toy for you to possess and we just met! You don’t even know me!

  His response came back quickly.

  Nope, not drunk. Again, stop thinking! I know you aren’t a toy, but I sure as hell love playing with you. And I know enough…for now. We’ll get to know each other very well, I promise. I’ll call you in a bit, sugar. Got some things to do. Later, babe.

  Nope. Uh-uh. Not talking to him later. I didn’t reply, instead calling Allie to see how her night ended, and to see if Brandon had told her about the drama at the tattoo shop.

  She sounded half-asleep, mumbling, “ ‘lo?”

  “Morning, sunshine!” I said brightly. “Sleep well?”

  “Ugh…Emma…why are you calling so early?” Allie groaned.

  “Early? Allie honey, its almost two in the afternoon! Get your lazy ass up!”

  “Two? Seriously? Holy mother of batman, I haven’t slept this late since college!” Allie sounded wide awake now.

  “Get dressed,” I told her. “I’m coming over and we’re having sundaes. We need to talk.” I heard a car pulling up outside, looked out and saw Leah getting out and heading towards the door. “And Leah’s coming, too.”

  “Alright. See you in ten,” Allie replied before hanging up.

  I wrenched open the front door before Leah could touch the knob, told her, “We’re going to Allie’s,” and ran into the kitchen to grab the makings for our sundaes.

  “Oooh, we’re having Special Sundaes?” Leah asked.

  “Yup. Let’s roll.”

  We got into my bug and headed out. A few minutes later we pulled up at Allie’s little cottage, where she was standing on the porch, waving at us. Leah and I grabbed everything and headed in.

  We made sundaes and carried them out to Leah’s back deck, sitting in the sunshine.

  “Okay,” I said to Allie, “Spill.”

  Leah looked at me and raised her brows questioningly. I filled her in.

  “Allie and I met at Griff’s last night, had some drinks with Luke and Brandon. Brandon is Luke’s brother, Luke you remember. Or, maybe not, you were pretty toasted that night! Anywho, we drank, went to the show at Shimbots, and then split up. I went home to wait for Luke, and Allie went back into Griff’s with Brandon. So, Leah, now you’re caught up, Allie, talk.”

  Allie rolled her eyes at me and started talking. “Brandon and I had just gotten our drinks and were sitting down talking. Well, more like arguing because I swear that’s all we do, but Brandon got a call from Luke and said some shit went down at the shop. He didn’t go into detail, but apparently Luke had it under control, so we had a couple more drinks. I tried to get him to dance, he wouldn’t, so I did without him. Then, we said goodnight and left. That’s it, the end.”

  I wasn’t buying it. Sober Allie has a hard time resisting finding someone to warm her bed, Drinking Allie finds it impossible.

  “Not the end. I know you, McCormick. What was it? All the way? Third base?” I asked.

  Leah chimed in, “Yeah, Allie, even I know that wasn’t the end. Who are you trying to kid?”

  “I’m serious! That was it…except maybe I kissed him.” She mumbled the last bit, but we still heard.

  My face broke into a huge grin and I smacked her arm. “I told you! So? I had to tell you all the sordid details with Luke, now its your turn!”

  “It was a good kiss.” Allie smiled softly at the memory. “It just happened. We were walking out of the bar, he walked me to my car, we said good night, and before he turned away, I just grabbed him and laid it on him. He kissed me back after a second, and we left it at that. Now, Emma, its your turn!”

  Leah turned to me, bouncing in her seat. “Yeah! I gotta hear this! You finally get some?”

  Allie sold me out, crowing, “Hell yeah, she did! The other night and last night, too, if everything went as planned!”

  I glared at Allie, rolled my eyes, and started talking. I filled them in about waiting for hours until he showed, told them what happened at the shop (I’m still kind of wondering how that would work) and finished with our fast and furious sex on the hallway floor and subsequent weirdness. Then I told them about the texts.

  Allie and Leah just sat there, staring at me in silence, jaws slack, eyes wide. Then Allie said, “Wait. So these people were fucking while he was actually giving a tattoo? That’s…interesting.”

  Leah nodded in agreement.

  “Focus, people!” I shouted. “What am I going to do about Luke?”

  Leah spoke first. “I think you should go for it. I mean, he’s into you, Em. And if he’s good in bed?” She made that a question, and I nodded emphatically. “Well there ya go. Hot, good in bed, and into you. What more do you need?”

  Allie nodded before adding, “Yeah, Emma. He told you literally that you were his. He’s staked a claim on you, and I wouldn’t be running from that if I were you!”

  “But guys, that’s just it! He staked a claim! Who does that? We’re not in the ice ages again, and I’m not going to date a caveman that expects me to just roll over and do whatever whenever. If I wanted that, I’d have stayed with that douche bag, Brad. He’d grunt and expect me to not only come running, but to know what that meant without asking. FUCK. THAT. Been there, done that, and I’m not going back!”

  “Em, I don’t think Luke is like that,” Allie interjected. “I get the feeling that he’s just very confident in himself and gets what he wants. And what he wants, babe, is you! Go with it!”

  “I agree with Allie, Emma. You should go for it. It’d be nice to see my sister settled down finally,” Leah said.

  “Leah, you have a sister that’s settled down. And since when do you care about my relationship status?” I asked.

  “I care,” she huffed. “Frankly, I just don’t want to be known as the girl related to the dumbass who dumped that hot ass tattoo guy. You know, I’ve been wanting a tattoo…” she trailed off thoughtfully before giving me a look that plainly said, ‘you don’t go for him and I’m gonna get him.’

  “Leah,” I growled.

  Allie broke in, trying to prevent the argument brewing. “Leah, cut it out. You wouldn’t do that to your sister, and its just mean trying to provoke her like that. Emma, you’re stuck. Deal with it. And enjoy it, honey!” She grinned, waggling her brows at me.

  I sighed, clearly not getting anywhere in this conversation. My phone beeped and I looked at it. It was a message from Luke, asking where I was.

  Out. We’re done, remember? I typed and hit send.

  I took a big bite of my sundae, then tipped the bowl up and took a big gulp of strawberry daiquiri. Allie and Leah were talking about some dress Allie had at her store that she thought Leah would look good in. My phone beeped again.

  No. We’re not. Where are you?

  I sighed before responding: I said I was out. Luke, you can’t just barge into my life and take over. You cant just get it into your head that I’m yours, either. We fucked. That’s it.

  You know, for such a cute littl
e thing, you’re a real pain in the ass. Where are you, Emma?

  “OH MY GOD!” I shouted as I read his last text and then growled low in my throat.

  Allie reached over and yanked my phone out of my hand. She looked at me, shook her head, and then started typing.

  “Allie! Don’t you dare, you interfering little witch!” I yelled.

  “Too late!” she said, handing my phone back to me.

  I heard my phone beep again, almost immediately. Shooting a death stare at Allie, I opened the message.

  On my way.

  I stood up and grabbed my purse, digging for my keys. I couldn’t find them; however, I did hear a slight jingling coming from my left where Leah was sitting.

  “Leah,” I gritted out, my jaw clenched tight. “Give. Me. My. Keys.”

  She gave me a blank stare while trying to keep from grinning. “What keys?”

  “LEAH!” I yelled. “Give me my keys! Now!”

  She gave up the fight and just grinned unabashedly at me. “Nope.”

  I repeated myself again, and when her answer didn’t change, I lunged at her. She squealed and tossed the keys to Allie who caught them and took off running inside the house, while Leah headed around the side of the house through the yard. I followed, hot on Allie’s heels, yelling threats at her. She ran through the house and out the front door, heading off the front porch and into the yard where Leah was waiting to grab my keys again.

  Allie got about three feet into the yard before I managed to twist my fingers into the back of her shirt and pull, tackling her into the grass. We rolled, her trying to get away, or at least find an opening to toss the keys to Leah, and me trying to hold on to her as I worked my way up her body to get to her hand.

  A shadow fell over us as we struggled on the ground and Allie and I both looked up. Dancing grey-blue eyes looked down at us, and I slumped over Allie, laying my forehead in the grass and groaning. Allie laughed and pushed me off to the side before accepting the hand that Luke held down to help her up. He stood her on her feet and reached down for me. I got to my feet myself, avoiding his hand.

  Luke just shook his head and sighed before asking Allie and Leah, “Is she always this difficult?”

  Leah, big fat mouth that she is, replied, “Eh, she wasn’t always. Douche Bag Brad did a number on her.”

  He quirked a brow at her response, silently entreating her to expound on just who Douche Bag Brad was.

  I shot Leah a glare, daring her to say another word before I turned to Luke, crossing my arms in front of me. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you that we were through!” I shouted at him.

  He just smiled at me and calmly said, “That’s just it. You think too much, sugar. We’re not done, not by a long shot.” He looked over at Leah, who had taken my keys back from Allie, and asked her, “You good to take her car back?”

  Leah nodded, her and Allie both grinning widely.

  Luke grabbed my hand and pulled, tucking me into his side, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as he started walking me toward his car parked in front of Allie’s house.

  “Luke, wait!” I yelled, frantically trying to think of a way to stall him. “My purse! I need it!”

  “No you don’t,” he stated.

  “My cell phone!”

  “Don’t need it either, sugar.”

  He stopped us by the passenger door of his car, opening it and lightly pushing me in, one hand on the top of my head and one on my hip. He closed the door as soon as I was completely inside and walked around to get in.

  I turned to him. “Resorting to kidnapping now, are we? Where do you get off?” I huffed.

  “In your tight little body,” he responded, deliberately twisting my words.

  I gasped as butterflies started dancing in my belly at his words, while other parts of me became damp. No! Not going there, not giving in! I sat quietly for a minute, twisting my hands in my lap.

  “Where are you taking me, then? Will you please just take me home?” I asked the last question quietly, pleading with him and hoping that he would fall for it.

  “No, and you’ll see. We’re almost there,” he replied.

  I didn’t say anything else, just stared out the window as he drove. After about fifteen minutes, we turned onto a narrow lane, winding back through the trees. We pulled up in front of a two story log cabin style house with large windows framed by red shutters, a red tin roof, and a wraparound porch. It was beautiful, set back in a clearing in the woods, and it looked so homey and inviting. I wondered who lived there and asked Luke the same.

  “I’ll show you,” he said.

  We got out of the car and walked up on the porch. Luke slid a key into the lock and opened the door, stepping back to let me pass.

  I stared at him, not moving into the house like he intended. “You live here?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Well, me and Brandon and Doug.”

  “Doug?” I asked. I got my answer when a large yellow lab came bounding out the door at me, tail wagging, tongue lolling out the side of his wide open, full of large, sharp, pointy teeth mouth…yikes! I took a step back as he gathered himself to leap at me, terrified that I was about to be eaten. I looked at Luke, waiting for him to do something, say something, anything to save me, but he just grinned at me.

  I felt two saucer sized paws come up on my shoulders, surprisingly gentle, and a big, wet tongue licked up the side of my face. My eyes flew open (I didn’t even realize that I had closed them) and I stared into deep brown doggie eyes. My heart melted and I brought my hands up to rub his soft, floppy ears. After a second, he dropped to the ground and ambled away.

  Luke smiled. “Emma, meet Doug. He likes you.”

  I smiled back. “I think I like him, too. He just caught me off guard and he’s so big!”

  We both turned to watch Doug as he marked about a dozen trees before ambling back towards the porch. He walked up the steps and stopped by my side, where he reached his nose up and nipped the sleeve of my hoodie in his teeth, tugging me towards the door. I walked inside, not given much choice.

  I heard Luke laughing behind me as he followed, closing the door behind him. Doug let me go once I cleared the door, walked to a large overstuffed tan couch, climbed up on it and laid down with a sigh.

  I looked around the living room, surprised by the openness and warmth. It was definitely lived in, but not cluttered or dirty. To the left, a wide staircase led upstairs, and the kitchen was on the other side of the living room, separated by a long breakfast bar, complete with stool seating. To the right was a door I assumed would be a closet, and then a hallway leading to unseen rooms.

  As I stood there taking everything in, I felt Luke come up behind me and lift my hair over my shoulder sweeping it off my neck. He then leaned in and pressed his lips softly behind my ear, kissing my tattoo. I felt myself melting back against him and stiffened, refusing to give in to the need starting to course through my body.

  “Luke,” I whispered. “Why did you bring me here?”

  He answered me with his mouth still against my skin. “So you can know me. And because I’ve been dreaming of having you in my bed since I touched you the first time.” He pressed kisses down my throat, nipping my skin when he reached my shoulder.

  I shivered at the feel of his teeth, closing my eyes at the sensation. I started to turn, forgetting for the moment that I was fighting against this, when he stepped back, dropping his hands from me.

  He sat on the couch beside Doug, stroking his head absent-mindedly as he began speaking unexpectedly.

  “I bought this place for me and Brandon after Lenny passed away. He had left us a pretty good sum in addition to the shop. Brandon could have gotten his own place, but honestly, neither one of us wanted that. This is the first real home we’ve ever had, and we’ve only really had each other.” He paused as I crossed the room to sink into the overstuffed armchair that matched the couch he and Doug were sitting on.

  “Our parents died in an accident when I
was twelve. They weren’t the best of parents, but they were our parents, you know? Anyway, we were sent to live with my dad’s brother, who unfortunately, was a drunken asshole. He liked to come home from work and get shit faced. He had a wife, if you could call her that. She was treated more like a servant, though she was probably the nicest anyone had ever been to either of us.

  One night, Brandon wasn’t feeling well and ended up getting sick in the hallway as he tried to run to the bathroom. He was only ten, you know? So he called for Celia, hoping she’d come help him, maybe mother him a little. Instead, he got Stu. Stu stumbled down the hall, saw the mess, and starting yelling at Brandon, telling him he was a worthless piece of shit that did nothing but make messes and cost him money. I had run out of my room when I heard him start yelling to get to Brandon. Brandon was crying, trying to explain that he didn’t feel good, but Stu didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to hear it so much that he backhanded Brandon across the face, splitting his lip and knocking him to the floor. He raised his foot to kick him. A ten year old! He was gonna kick him in his ribs or his face, hell, I don’t know which for sure, but I knew that I wasn’t going to let him.

  I screamed at Stu to stop, then I tackled him. I hit him over and over again until Celia pulled me off of him, then he just laid there. I never figured out if he had passed out from being drunk or if I had knocked him out, but Celia grabbed us up, packed our clothes into two large trash bags and drove us down to the Juvenile Detention Center. She told the guard on duty that they couldn’t take us anymore, not that we were bad kids, but we just weren’t wanted. We spent the night in a holding room and they put us in a foster home the next day.”

  Luke stopped talking for a minute, looking over to me and searching my face. I don’t know what he was looking for, but he must have seen what he wanted because he continued.